Doctor: Designer Drugs Making a Comeback

It was around this time last year when Newswatch 16 first reported about the designer drug called bath salts.

Police explained how people high on bath salts acted strangely and out of control.

Doctors in our area treated hundreds of people in emergency rooms.

Bath salts were banned in Pennsylvania in June but now doctors said designer drugs are making a comeback.

Sergeant Lena Angelella of the Pittston Township Police Department dealt with people high on bath salts and called the experiences some of the most intense in her 15 years in law enforcement.

“You’re dealing with people hallucinating. They think someone is after them or trying to hurt them and here comes a police officer to calm them down,” said Sergeant Angelella.

The synthetic designer drugs came in many forms and were marketed under names including bath salts, plant food, and insect repellant. In June, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a bill banning the designer drugs.

During the height of bath salts, doctors treated several patients high on the drug every day. Now they said what’s disturbing is that trend is making a comeback.

At Geisinger Wyoming Valley near Wilkes-Barre, emergency room doctor Sam Saylor said that over the past few weeks he’s treated a number of patients who used a drug called cloud nine.

Cloud nine is marketed under the pseudonym insect repellant. Dr. Saylor said he’s also treated patients who obtained bath salts illegally on the streets or online.

“It’s upsetting that people are going to find drugs when they need to find them or they want to find them. Even though they’ve been made illegal people are finding routes to get them,” said Dr. Saylor.

Dr. Saylor said most of the patients he’s treated recently are addicts who use the designer drugs to get high. Police want anyone who comes in contact with these designer drugs or who knows anyone selling them to report it right away.